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Autumn is one of my favorite times of year. Nature’s amazing spectacle warms us with beautiful blasts of color before winter settles in. Pumpkins are carved into scary faces, hayrides deliver us deep into apple orchards, magical candlelight stirs our imagination as we share scary stories, and warm ovens tease us with irresistible treats. What’s not to love?

Samhain, or Halloween, marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark half of the year. From sunset on October 31st to sunset on November 1st (which is about halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice), the traditional belief is that the veil between worlds becomes thin. During this liminal time, spirits and beings from the other side can more easily cross over to our world. Bonfires are lit for their cleansing and protective powers, offerings of food and drink (trick or treat, anyone?) are left for visiting spirits to placate them, feasts are held to welcome the spirits of loved ones that have returned to us, and masks are worn to disguise oneself from harmful spirits and evade their wrath (better dig out the face paint!).

Though I love reading (and writing) paranormal thrillers, I’m a huge scaredy-cat! While writing my novel, there have been many nights when my laptop almost left the land of the living as I tossed it to run for shelter (my husband, fast asleep in our bed) and escape the boogeyman outside the dining room window. But alas, I just can’t get enough. And this time of year, my cup (and my DVR) runneth over. Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Grimm, Sleepy Hollow… they are all back on. Sleep-deprivation, here I come!

My fellow lovers of sleepless nights and espresso shot mornings, go kill it in those costumes, get your pumpkin carving on, fall into a trick-or-treat candy coma, and have a spooktacular October!!!

I love this time of year! Although it’s tough to let go of summer, the tiny chill in the air signals the beginning of nature’s grand finale before winter. Soon enough, gorgeous leaves will line our path everywhere we go! It never loses its magic for me. Apple picking, pumpkin spice coffee, ghost stories…autumn is one of my favorite seasons! This transitional time (along with the new waxing moon this week) ushers in all sorts of new beginnings.

One of my favorite new beginnings is the back to school rush (moment of silence as all my teacher friends curse me). The summer haze burns off and people get smarter! Students are busy making new friends (and stirring up new dramas), and day by day they become way more fabulous/interesting people in the world mix with all their newly acquired knowledge and skill. Oh I miss school…running across campus to make it to my classes (always at least 5 minutes late)…daydreaming about past and future mischief…staying up all night reading and writing papers. I guess not much has changed, just now it’s racing to work (always at least 5 minutes late), daydreaming about how I can prevent my offspring from one day making the same or worse mischief than I did, and staying up all night to research and write my first book.

Anyway, I digress. Autumn is the time to get to work and make stuff happen! Though the shorter days make me ever so sad, the early darkness ends the summer temptation to be outside every second, and that means more time behind the screen to write. I cannot wait to share my first novel with you all. Big shout out to The White Stripes. Seven Nation Army is the fire to my gasoline this week (and most weeks, actually). If you’re gonna write about kicking some serious A$$, you have to get fired up with the right tunes. Whatever your autumn urges may be, hang onto these last few sunny days of August, enjoy your long weekend, and then take September by the horns and do something awesome!!!!

It’s summertime, and that means there’s an island escape with my two favorite boys in my future! Before my toes hit the water and my ass hits the sand (Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett are about to get some serious air time), I must give a much needed, overdue update to all my friends out there.

My research for Book I and the entire series continues. I can’t get enough ancient history, classical mythology, and literature. It provides amazing inspiration for my writing. In the past few months, I’ve digested just a few giants including Myth in Human History (Voth) and Classical Mythology (Vandiver). I’m finishing up Ovid’s Metamorphoses before I go, and I have Homer’s Iliad and Hesoid’s Works and Days all queued up!

Sunshine, lack of responsibility, and time with loved ones is a coveted recipe that we only seem to get right once or twice a year. When I get it right, I soak in every drop of goodness. In spending precious time away, my husband and I inevitably step back from our lives as if we are outsiders for a short time. We reflect on all we’ve done right, on all we still want to accomplish, we tend to our wounds, gear up again, and return to our destinies with fresh energy, passion, and inspiration. Vacation brings us back to life, rejuvenates us, inspires us, and helps us to harness our own magic again. I cannot wait to see where it takes us this year!

Now go find some sunshine, crank up your soundtrack, and reconnect with your own magic!

Are you a Pinner? Don’t forget to check out my novel-centric Pinterest boards. I’ve been having lots of fun collecting historical and magical tidbits that relate to my seven-book series. So go check them out if you’re curious and want to learn more about the ancient Etruscans, Diana the huntress, Invidia, and the historical origins of witchcraft.

I’m marinating in a stew of creative ideas this morning. Book I, the first in my seven-book series, is well underway! Oh, I wish I could share…. there are so many things I want to talk about, but I have to keep my mouth shut!!!! One word… EPIC!

Creating a story from a tiny seed of inspiration, and looking back and seeing how much it has evolved, taken on a life of its own, and has begun to live and breathe outside of your mind is nothing short of exhilarating. It is a lot of hard work, but there is nothing I’d rather be doing. Whenever we create something, we are projecting our cognitive ideas out of our minds and into the world. When we create, we bring thoughts and ideas to life. That is pure magic.

What is your creative outlet? Please share in the Comments section below. Whatever it is, make sure that you take some time to pour yourself into it and make some magic!

Hurlingham Books, Fulham. These are 15 of the most beautiful bookshops in London. London is home to some of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. These are all independent bookshops in London and they stock a variety of old and new, fiction and non-fiction etc. Perfect for bookworms in London! #whatshotblog #bookshopporn #bookstagram #bookshops...

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About Karen

My love affair with stories began before I could even read, when night after night my big brother read to me the enchanting pages of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These epic stories cultivated my vivid imagination, planted seeds of inspiration, and drove me to chase real life adventure.